Quote of the day

“The state has no business getting involved in a matter between two individuals,”

And before you get too excited, the quote is by Cuba's president Raúl Castro and he is explaining why Cuba will now allow people to sell their own cars. Last month the government published rules allowing Cubans to buy and sell used vehicles freely for the first time in half a century. I hope buyers have read their Akerlof.

However while buying and selling used cars is now ok, those allowed to buy new cars is limited to people who earn some foreign currency, including doctors, artists, musicians, members of airline flight crews and the handful of Cubans who work at the American naval base at Guantánamo Bay.